Actress Valerie Perrine, who earned an Academy Award nomination for her role in “Lenny” and was widely known for playing Eve Teschmacher in the original “Superman” films, died Monday at her home in Beverly Hills at age 82.
“It is with deep sadness that I share the heartbreaking news that Valerie has passed away,” a friend, Stacey Souther, wrote in a Facebook post also shared on the actress’ page. “She faced Parkinson’s disease with incredible courage and compassion, never once complaining. She was a true inspiration who lived life to the fullest — and what a magnificent life it was. The world feels less beautiful without her in it.”
Perrine was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2015.
Souther also launched a GoFundMe page to raise $35,000 to give Perrine the “farewell she deserves.”
Perrine was nominated for an Academy Award for best actress for her portrayal of Honey Bruce, the wife of controversial stand-up comedian Lenny Bruce, opposite Dustin Hoffman in the 1974 biographical film “Lenny,” directed by Bob Fosse. The performance also earned her nominations from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and the Golden Globes.
She gained broader recognition for her role as Eve Teschmacher, the assistant to Gene Hackman’s Lex Luthor, in 1978’s “Superman” and its 1980 sequel, starring Christopher Reeve.
In 1979, she appeared as Charlotta Steele, the ex-wife of a rodeo rider played by Robert Redford, in “The Electric Horseman.”
Perrine posed for Playboy and was regarded as a sex symbol in the 1970s. She also was credited with being among the first actresses to intentionally appear nude on television in the 1973 TV movie “Steambath.”
Her final credited screen performance was in the 2015 film “Silver Skies.”
Born Sept. 3, 1943, in Galveston, Texas, Perrine began her career as a Las Vegas showgirl before transitioning to acting. She later recalled meeting an agent at a dinner party who cast her as Montana Wildhack in George Roy Hill’s 1972 film adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut’s “Slaughterhouse-Five.”
Perrine went on to appear in 1973’s “The Last American Hero,” a drama based on the rise of a stock car racer from humble beginnings to national prominence.
She also starred in 1976’s “W.C. Fields and Me” and appeared in the 1980 disco comedy “Can’t Stop the Music” alongside the Village People.
On television, Perrine appeared in a 1995 episode of “Homicide: Life on the Street” as a former girlfriend of Detective John Munch, played by Richard Belzer.
Her other television credits included “Northern Exposure,” “ER,” “Nash Bridges,” “The Practice,” “Just Shoot Me!” and “Third Watch,” among others.
She is survived by her brother, Kenneth Perrine, who also has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
Her GoFundMe page can be found at: gofund.me/68a845e42.
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